Allison Marchetti

A solid and clearly written practitioner text, this book is well organized and highly accessible.

The authors start with just enough composition theory and explain quite convincingly why students need to learn how to write analysis about more than literature alone. Contemporary theories of writing pedagogy are founded on the notion that students learn how to write by composing authentic pieces of writing for a genuine purpose and for a specific, genuine audience. This book extrapolates that foundational pedagogical theory and demonstrates precisely how teachers can support students as they write about subjects they are passionate about—music, television, movies, video games, sports, etc.

The second section of this text focuses on four crucial elements of powerful writing—passion, ideas, structure, and authority. Within these four chapters, Marchetti and O’Dell masterfully connect theory and practice as they ground pedagogical principles such as “transfer” and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development within the context of popular culture that permeates students’ lives. The activities and strategies they discuss in this section and in the final section of the text are engaging and practical—ready to be implemented in a variety of instructional contexts.

Peppered with numerous examples from student writing and professional mentor texts, this book holds great promise for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators. I’ll be using it in my Advanced Composition course this semester.… (mais)